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2.9 Quake Wakes Up Boulder City

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(LAS VEGAS, KXNT)–Some residents of Boulder City didnt need an alarm clock Monday morning: they were awaked by a magnitude 2.9 earthquake centered just a few miles south of town.

The U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Nevada-Reno’s Seismological Laboratory reported the quake, adding that more than two dozen residents logged on to websites to report it.

Some reported loud noises accompanying the tremors.

Ken Smith of the UNR lab tells KXNT that the 2.9 quake–originally reported as 2.8, but revised hours later–ranks fairly high among recent quakes in the southern Nevada region, but small stuff in the big geological picture.

He says Nevada–the third most seismically active of all states–receives 10,000 to 15,000 quakes per year, although most are virtually undetectable. Northern Nevada receives by far the most earthquakes in the state. nevada averages an earthquake a year in the 4.0 to 4.5 range, but it too is more likely to occur in the northern part of the state.

Nonetheless, earthquake preparedness is important for southern Nevada residents, and there is a slightly increased chance of another quake on the heel’s of Monday’s 2 point 9.